May 31, 2010 (Sampurn Wire): It’s final. The handsome much-in-the-news celeb-boxer Vijender Singh, who brought home an Olympics medal for us, is all set to make his acting debut.

After many false and misleading reports of his debut as a leading man, Vijender’s bona fide acting launch would be in a film entitled Patiala Express, where the boxer plays….a boxer!

The film to be produced by Percept Ltd, will start shooting early 2011. Before that, Vijender, not much of an actor but possessing the charm and public connectivity to set the screen on fire, will undergo three months of acting course from October onwards.

Speaking on the project, Shailendra Singh of Percept says, “I agree Vijender is not much of an actor yet. But he’s very good looking and he’s one helluva boxer. We’ve cast him in Patiala Express as a boxer because we know he’ll look convincing. We’ve seen Sohail Khan and Bobby Deol play boxers (in Abhishek Kapoor’s Aryan and Anil Sharma’s Apne). What can I say?”

Vijender’s film won’t only be a launch pad for the popular boxer; the producers are looking at it as a means of promoting boxing.

Says Singh, “We genuinely feel boxing has the potential to be the second-most popular sport in our country after cricket. It doesn’t require too much investment to be indulged in and there’s no need for a large expensive stadium for the bouts.”

Patiala Express would endeavour to be the first authentic boxing film for India. The director is yet to be finalized.

Explains Shailendra Singh, “As far as I can see, there’s only one knock-out sports film in Hindi, and that’s Lagaan. Neither Aamir Khan nor Ashutosh Gowariker is available to direct Vijender’s boxing film. We’re looking at fresh directorial talent from the advertising world.”

As for Vijender’s leading lady, buzz is Bipasha Basu is stepping into the boxer-turned-actor’s romantic arena.

-Subhash K Jha/ Sampurn Wire